I am Tired today. :O

I am tired today, but for um...more feminine reasons. :)
For girls only now! And I'm sorry if it grosses you all out, but - hey - we all go through it. ;)  So let's talk about periods! And how this raw lifestyle changes it. hehe. My mens came three days early, I am usually very regular, so that is unusual for me. A lot of women say that on this lifestyle their periods change a lot - if they normally have a very heavy or irregular flow it becomes shorter and not as heavy. When you get right down to it - your body is detoxing properly on this diet so it's going to change your monthly cycle too until it's running as it should be. Women who are going through menopause find that it helps with all the side effects like hot flashes and stuff like that.  
Honestly - when I get mine it isn't too bad, for the week before I am like an emotional rollercoaster - I get depressed five days before and then two days before I just get all out angry and if you're pisssing me off - I clam up and I'm just not even going to bother talking to you. Just give me some chocolate dang it and go away! hehe. You know that's what you're really thinking! ;) As long as I realize what is causing it I am always okay. I just know I need to take that day easy and do something to relax. But when I don't realize what is going on - then I give into all that anxiety and anger which makes for a terrible day.
When the period starts, I get some bad cramps for half of the first day and an afternoon of feeling uncomfortable and very tired. As soon as that first day is over then I am fine. Mood stabilized. ;)
Honestly - I knew I was going to have it this week, but I had no other 'side effects' that usually warn that it's coming - none of the anger or emotional ups and downs. I've been full of joy all week actually. I didn't even have any cramps. None of the muscle or back aches that get really bad around that time. But I am tired and didn't sleep as well last night, but that's about all. I really hope that continues. That would be sweet. :) I had pretty much lost my appetite this whole week and I am wondering if it was because of the cycle?? Usually I fill up on carbs and lots of sweets during the week before -- you know - those 'comfort foods'.  Kinda makes you wonder if it's the 'comfort' foods that make you so miserable during that time - because if you're eating twice as much sugar, then obviously you're going to be having highs, and then crashing really bad a while later. So you eat more sugar to get the high again. ?? I don't know, just something I was wondering about. Basically I was having to make myself eat, because my body just wasn't giving me the signal that it was hungry. And that makes it real easy to slip into that old mentality I had of not eating breakfast and lunch and chowing down at super.
I think that I may need to get up earlier again in the morning - an hour earlier at least. I remember that I got up around 6:15 during the Master Cleanse I did and I could get a lot more done before I had to go to work - not to mention I felt more awake while I was at work then. :) But I was thinking if I got up earlier, I could fix myself a better breakfast. Usually breakfast is 1 banana, 12 cherries, and a handful or two of blueberries, all blended into a smoothie. Easy way to get a lot of food in - I guess in the morning your body is still in a detoxing mode - that's why it's a good idea to drink lemon water and other stuff like that that tend to help it along. It also helps to drink a liquid breakfast - juice or smoothies. Because it's easier on the digestive system at those hours. Your body is breaking down toxins/cells. Around noon it shifts I guess and starts building up and lunch will be your most important meal of the day. And you eat every three hours in between that to keep feeding it the energy it needs for all those processes. They say three hours because that is how often a nursing baby feeds I guess. And I noticed when I did the MC that every three hours was when I was truly getting hungry. Basically when your body is saying feed me and even a bowl of brocoli looks good - eat - you're hungry. When your mind is craving pizza, and nothing else will satisfy you except pizza - don't eat because you're just having a craving.
I don't know how much of that is true - I was just reading about it from a few different sources.
Somedays all I crave is lots of veggies and leafy greens. Just give me a big salad - I don't want anything else. Other days all I want is a bunch of fruit - because I need more energy. I figure my body knows what it needs and is sending signals for different things. So I am just eating what it wants me too. That's why I had a bunch of veggies today and only a few servings of fruit this morning. It's just weird stuff like this that I am picking up on.
Anyway -- Amanda commented that she could tell I had lost some weight. 13 pounds! :) She could tell mostly by my face. I don't know. It doesn't look any different to me. But I can tell I've lost a bunch around the waist. Cause my pants don't fit anymore and I pull them back up twenty million times a day! You know, I didn't stop to think that when I started to actually 'transition' I was going to need new clothes cause my old ones won't fit me anymore. Yes thats exciting - but really it's just annoying too! So if you see me around and I look like one of those gangster boys wearing my pants below the waist and drowning in baggy shirts - don't think little of me! Unless you want to take me shopping! :) hehe. Maybe I will need to start saving up some money for that purpose! All I want for Christmas is a shoping spree! :O
Tonight I did try some steamed veggies - I only steamed them for about five minutes this time - they were basically just hot and still very crunchy - which is how I like them anyway. I will see tomorrow if it is the 'cooked' foods that give me that 'hit by a train' effect. ;) I don't think it will.
Let's see -- I decided to post the picture -- and it was scruptious! So I'll post the recipe too --
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Carrots
1 clove minced garlic
put all in your steamer basket - sprinkling the minced garlic over top of all
Steam for 5 minutes, adding several leaves of spinage about 1-2 minutes before you're done (don't want them too soggy)
Put on plate. I have allowed dressing and sauses into my raw diet (I am high raw but not 100%) so I poured some general tso's sause over the top of it - all natural ingredients and no preservatives (basically when you read the ingrediants and know what everything is - buy it.).
Oh -- and here's the kicker - you have to eat it with chopsticks. Especially chopsticks from Japan!! Otherwise it just doesn't taste as good. :D